Ariel Schrag takes us on a painfully funny tour of her formative years, from her childhood in Berkeley to her mid-twenties in Brooklyn, exploring what it means to connect to others when you don’t yet know who you are—when you want to be “part of it” but the “it” changes daily. We meet hippie babysitters, mean girls, best friends, former friends, prom dates, girlfriends, sex ed students, and far too many LensCrafters sales associates.

These frank, irreverent, and honest comics revel in the uncomfortable—occasionally cringe inducing—moments from our early years that end up wiring us as people.

“Both heartbreaking and hilarious, I could not put Part of It down. Ariel Schrag is an inspiration, a hero, a desperately needed queer voice and one of the best storytellers I know.” – Jill Soloway, creator of Transparent

"I've always admired Ariel Schrag's fearless commitment to honesty, both in real life and in her art. For me, that's been the crucial ingredient in all her work, and Part of It is no exception."—Adrian Tomine, author of Killing and Dying

"There’s a story in the middle of Ariel Schrag’s Part of It that I can’t stop thinking about...Schrag is an expert personal storyteller...The elegantly slender-lined visual style is deceptively simple, gradually revealing Schrag’s ability to command emotion with her pen in the same way she does with her words."—Vulture, "The 8 Best Comics to Read This November"

“Part of It is consistently hilarious, but Schrag never shies away from uncomfortable memories, those times that are truly cringe-worthy upon reflection, and are therefore all the more important to revisit and understand. This is a perfect coming-of-age book—smart and honest and unafraid of visiting the points in our lives when we didn’t yet know who we wanted to be, or who we already were.”—NYLON, “10 New Books to Read this November”